Elastic stocking



(No Model.)

C. P. BENNETT- ELASTIG STOGKING. K No. 361,042. Patented Apr. 12, 188.7.

March 14, 1876.

^ IINITED STATI-s Pn'rniwrl OFFICE.

CHARLES F. BENNETT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELASTIC STOCKING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 361,042, dated April12I 1887.

Application filed October Q5, 1886. Serial No. 217,177. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. BENNETT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Elastic Hose, of which the following is a specification.

The object of myinvention is to make an elastic hose for use as asurgical appliance which shall avoid the inconvenience of having theseam over the cords of the foot at the rear of the ankle orl over theankle-joints at the sides, and at the same time permit the taking outand replacing of the portion at the rear of the heel as the same maybecome worn without injury to the stocking; and my invention consists inthe features and details of construction hereinafter described andclaimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows the hose in place on the foot, and Fig.2 is a plan view of the hose as the same appears when lying with therear portion up.

A is the upper portion of the sock; B, the foot; C, the heel-piece; Dand F, seams, and E the opening at the heel. l

In knittingelastic hose the material out of which it iscomposed,together with the threads of rubber or other elastic material,are woven into a piece of cloth of the proper width and shape toform,when folded and sewed together, a sock or stocking to t the foot orportion of the limb for which it is intended. As commonly made, the seamwhere the edges of the material are sewed together passes directly upthe back of the heel and over the cords at the back of the ankle, sothat in use it is apt to chafc and hurt at thispoint. The inconvenieneeof this arrangement has been attempted to be obviated in certain casesby weaving the material so as to throw the seam at one side, as in thepatent to Cyrus Hoult of February 9, 1886, and in some cases at bothsides of the ankle, as in the patent to Edward Tivey of In none of thesecases, however, has that portion of the hose immediately in the rear ofthe heel, where the wear occasioned by the slight movement of the heelup and down in the shoe takes place, been made in a separate piece, sothat when it becomes worn it can be removed and a new piece insertedwithout injury to the stocking. In

these patents and in all the cases of which I have any knowledge thisportion, when worn, has to be cut out, leaving ragged edges, which causethe hose to unravel and impair its use, notwithstanding another may besewed in place. y

In making my hose I knit or weave the sam'c with the'seam D running fromone end of the material to the other. The width of the material isvaried from time to time to conform to the shape of the foot or limb tobe tted. After weaving enough to cover the foot, I di` -minish the widthof the material, asindieated by the heavy line E, after whichl I weavethe material of the diminished width until, preferably, I have reached apoint about corresponding with the ankle joint when the hose is on thefoot, after which I prefer to gradually increase the width of thematerial by adding to each side until it is of sufficient width to t thelimb when the edges are brought and sewed together, though, ifpreferred, in the case of short socks, the parts need not convergetogether, and the piece C may extend to the top. When sewed together,the material woven with converging edges forms, when lying fiat, an article like that shown in Fig. 2, with the piece marked C omitted. If itshould be put on the foot in this condition, t-he rear of the heel andankle would be left uncovered. To supply this omitted portion of thehose I weave a separate piece of the proper length and width to ill thespace left in weaving the main portion of the hose, as shown by theletter C in Fig. 2. This piece. C is made with a selvage or finishededge, and all of the edges of the main portion of the hose are also madewith a selvage or finished edge. To complete the hose, the piece C issewed in place when the other parts are stitched together. In this waythe hose is nished complete and ready for use.

In weaving the material forthe main part of the hose, and when Idiminish its width, as shown at E, I am careful to make the materialsufficiently wide to cover'the ankle-j oints when brought and sewedtogether. This brings the seams caused by sewing in the piece C in thehollow at the rear of the ankle-j oints, and prevents the irritation andchaiing at these joints, which stockings as now made are apt to occa-ICG sion. There are several advantages resulting from thus weaving thehose in two distinct parts of the proper shape to be sewed together inmaking the completed article. As the portion of the hose at the rear ofthe heel and ankle becomes Worn, it can be removed by taking out thestitching Without cutting orin any Way impairng the other parts of thehose and a new piece can be sewed in. No ragged edges are made, and notrouble is experienced in removing a worn and inserting a new piece, andif the ankle should become swollen or diminished in size, so that thehose as originally made would be too small or fail to fit the parts withthat closeness necessary in articles of this kind, the difficulty can beeasily remedied by inserting a larger or smaller piece, C, as the casemay require.

\Vhen I speak of covering the foot or limb, I do not mean a completecovering, but only the parts necessary to be covered by the stocking,and when I speak of thc seams in the rear of the ankle-joint converginginto one seam I mean that they come into the main seam before reachingthetop of the stocking, though at what point or at what angle theyapproach the main seam-Whethcr acute, obtuse, or right-isimmaterial.

W'hat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Au elastic stocking consisting of a main part covering the foot and limband a minor part covering the rear of the ankle, said parts being madeseparately and sewed together in the completed article by seams in therear of the ankle-joints converging into oneseam, substantially asdescribed.

CHAS. F. BENNETT.

Witnesses:

E. F. HUB'HARD, THonAs A. BANNING.

